Igbo culture

Taking a look at a glimpse into the lives of the Igbo society in Africa, by taking a look at the villages that are found, its shown that traditions are highly regarded amongst many communities. Religion was also taken into account when it comes to the villagers it was taken in a serious matter as it helped shape their customs and traditions that were shown to be sacred. Taking a look at the simplest village or group of Igbo people, we could see that the role of controlling a family or a group of villagers was determined by the oldest man, as they would perceive him as the wisest and most knowledgeable person in their village due to his experiences. As in many villages his role was mainly involved in settling family fights and settle down issues with neighboring tribes therefore he was commanded with respect and reverence. Hence, many Igbo elders were composed of the oldest members in the village. Igbo land is rich in cultural and historical background due to the challenges and events it had faced before gaining their independence.

Taking a look back at the history of the Igbo culture it could be deduced that the invasion of the Victorians had brought some positive and negative changes to the culture. Taking a look the changes that had occurred the invasion caused many to learn about the culture in order to expand their knowledge about how the culture worked. Hence they had built schools and hospitals in order to educate the people and develop the society as a whole. Hence, taught both adults and youngsters how to read and write. The schools expanded in Igbo land bringing with them the church and religion and by looking at the villagers educatory system its found that faith had played a huge role in defying their identity so those who where enrolled in schools learned about Christianity the new religion that they had brought with them. According to Achebe “If Umuofia failed to send her children to the school, strangers would come from other places to rule them.” Indicating that the knowledge that was gained by the villagers was necessary as it would help them fight back and defend themselves against strangers both physically and as a people. Since they were a culture based almost solely on what was known to them from past experiences, and being unsure of the outside, they would have had no defense against any intruders coming into their land. Although due to Christianity many family were broken up and this lead to the destruction of an Igbo custom as before colonialism took place, family was an important thing in the Igbo society.

Looking at the judicial and the political stance that the Igbo society had it could be deduced that titles held by a clan member had a major part in the society. Taking a look at the society there was an order in which the titles could be achieved in, accompanied by payments that were required in order to get the title.  Taking a look the system established was a form of social security hence those who had titles were entitled a share of those who paid to get their title. However, getting a title wasn’t that easy as series of rituals were conducted and performed before one could receive a title which indicating ones position amongst his tribe and the level of his success in life. As a titled man had received different treatment than a man without a title, they were consulted and seeked for guidance by many of the villagers asking for tips and resources in order to be successful. Although some villages had kings and they had ruled the village yet they needed to consult and approve their decision by high ranked titled men in the village before taking any decision.

Looking back at the customs that are accompanied by the Igbo there are vast differences between their ideologies and western ideologies as an example in the Igbo culture polygamy, the practice of having many wives is spread amongst the villages as its known that the man with the most wives is shown to be the wealthiest man in the village. However polygamy isn’t something that is profound in the western societies, on the contrary monogamy (opposite of polygamy) is seen to be the accepted form of marriage in the west. As they western society perceives the ideology of having more than one wife is a cause that leads to divorce and disrupting family bonds. While like mentioned previously it is encouraged in the Igbo society. Nevertheless another example of cultural differences is polytheism, the practice of worshipping many gods, in the Igbo society they believe in many gods, and in their chi “their personal god” as Achebe says "A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi" therefore Achebe demonstrates the importance of god in an Igbo culture, a custom of killing and sacrificing animals is found I their traditions linking I back to getting closer to their gods. While in the western societies this ritual isn’t practiced, as they don’t believe in sacrificing animals to get closer to god, some western religions base it in being morally wrong and inhumane. As if westerns do sacrifice animals they would be violating their set of laws. 

After taking a look at the Igbo culture and by looking at their cultural, political and societal value, it could be deduced that the Igbo people are villagers that have simple aims in life as they aren’t complicated. It’s shown that they are peaceful and friendly, as they didn’t attack the British when they invaded them they allowed them to help their society prosper. By taking a look at the information mentioned wouldn’t you be excited to be a part of such culture. Wouldn’t you be excited to see the influence of your society on theirs, wouldn’t you be eager to visit and discover their beautiful nature and their tremendous villages, don’t waste your time and take part in something. I am Igbo so can you.